If Patrick does decide to run a limited stock car racing schedule in addition to her full-time IndyCar duties next year, nobody fits the bill better than Stewart to help Patrick with her NASCAR learning curve.

Stewart began his transition from open-wheel racing to NASCAR's second-tier series -- then known as the Busch Series -- in 1996. He continued to run a limited Busch schedule while competing full-time in IndyCar the next two years. Since his rookie Cup Series season in 1999, Stewart has won two championship's in NASCAR's top division (2002 and '05).

Patrick has made multiple trips to Stewart's race shop in North Carolina this summer to seek advice on her possible transition.

"I know that she's serious about it," said Stewart, who won the IndyCar championship in 1997. "She's come over and just talking for things right now. I know that's what she wants to do. She looked me straight in the eye and said this is what I want to do -- it looks like fun, looks like a lot of work, but it looks like fun."

Stewart, in his first year as driver and owner, holds the points lead with the cutoff race for the Chase later this week at Richmond.

Patrick, currently fifth in IndyCar points, is in the final year of her contract with Andretti Green Racing. She spent her first two years with Rahal Letterman Racing before moving over to AGR in 2007. AGR is confident she will re-sign with the team for at least next season.

Later this month, the IndyCar Series returns to Motegi, Japan, the site of Patrick's first win in the series in April 2008. IndyCar will conclude its season on October 10 at Homestead.

"The rumors are flying about NASCAR," Patrick wrote on her Twitter feed on Sunday. "I did talk to Tony, and he is a great guy. We are looking at NASCAR as I have always said."

Patrick's foray into stock cars will begin in a development program, most likely involving Nationwide, Trucks and ARCA. Former open-wheel veterans Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr., Scott Speed and A.J. Allmendinger all took the similar route before they moved up to Cup. Whether Patrick makes it into Cup is long to be decided.

Two years ago, Dario Franchitti broke the open-wheel ranks after winning the IndyCar title and switched to NASCAR, beginning with four Nationwide starts and one Truck race. Franchitti teamed with Patrick at AGR before heading to Chip Ganassi Racing to begin his stock car campaign.

Franchitti's stint in NASCAR was short-lived though. The Scot's lackluster performance on the track and his Ganassi team folding shop due to lack of sponsorship midway through the season led to his IndyCar return with Ganassi in September 2008.

For quite sometime, NASCAR has been savoring the possibility that Patrick will make a transition into their sport, given her enormous popularity on and off the track, as well as her wide marketability.

But Patrick's racing shift could be quite difficult since there is a considerable difference between the two cars. IndyCars are lighter in weight and provide more downforce than stock cars.

"I think she wants to know how to make the transition more than anything, and she's trying to put together her IRL deal and try to figure out how to transition that into NASCAR," Stewart said. "I think she's trying to do it the right way. She's not just cutting the cord and all of the sudden jumping in a car that she's unfamiliar with."

If indeed Patrick is serious about NASCAR, a mentor like Stewart would best serve her, especially if he brings her on board as a development driver for Stewart-Haas Racing.